


Nothing to Report

by radishleaf



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Flowers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just something short and cute for these two dlkgjdkgj, ugh I love them so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 16:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20343022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radishleaf/pseuds/radishleaf
Summary: Come the start of the Garland Moon, Byleth presents a white rose garland to the gatekeeper to encourage a confession, but he has nothing to report.





	Nothing to Report

**Author's Note:**

> i really like the gatekeeper!!!! he is a ray of sunshine throughout the entire game!!!!!
> 
> so of course i had to write a fic featuring him and byleth. this is just something cute and self-indulgent, which is why it is kinda short, haha. 
> 
> as always, kindly disregard any grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, and the like. i tried to be thorough. enjooooy.

Byleth was as brisk as the wind that changed the seasons, coming to him during the start of every month and the days peppered in-between. It confounded him how she managed to find the time; through the mounting responsibilities of teaching classes, training the students, heading out into battle, and so much more, the professor managed to always find a moment in the day to stop and speak with him.

Their exchanges were always short, always one-sided; the gatekeeper providing some mundane small talk after a confirmed, “Nothing to report!” Of course, there were rare days where something alarming occurred or some tragedy struck, and he was forced to deliver news that Byleth was aware of, but she still made her rounds with his post on the list.

Time and time and time again, she always came to see him, a gentle smile curved on her face. Though she never said much, Byleth always regarded him with a gentleness unlike any other. It wasn’t surprising when, before long, her expected presence was met with a fuzzy giddiness. Where some small shallow in his chest would grow warm, a little impatient, as he broke from the needed vigilance of a gatekeeper to glance at each passerby, hoping they were the woman who spoke to him any moment she had.

This had carried on for months, forming a pattern that the gatekeeper quickly got swept up in. Byleth was the only thing that made his unsurprisingly dull duties exciting; a pleasing chill on the hottest of days, a warm ray of light on the coldest. It wouldn’t be long before that shallow within him widened, the fuzziness morphing into a twisting—almost painful—squeezing of the chest as his entire face, neck, and ears reddened at Byleth’s very appearance. To see her was a blessing, a curse. He was so happy, so _mirthful_, that he deigned to say he’d grown to love her.

Grown to love someone who would never return his feelings, let alone notice them.

_Is… I-is she not coming today?_ he thought as his eyes scanned the entirety of the marketplace. _I-I hope she does, but I kind of hope she doesn’t. I mean, just being around her is—_

He spoke too soon. As soon as he turned his gaze to the right, there Byleth approached, her once steely expression softening considerably when their eyes connected. At once, a dust of scarlet crept across his cheeks, making his gulp thickly. He’d been around many women who charmed their way into his heart, but never one who did with a single glance. The gatekeeper couldn’t deny Byleth was striking; no wonder her popularity and innumerable suitors.

The gatekeeper dropped his gaze to the stones below, voice catching in his throat as the tips of Byleth’s boots came into view. Tentatively, he rose his eyes again and froze; his hackles stiffening ramrod straight from the unexpected skip of his heart. The gatekeeper’s mouth dropped open, voice croaking, as he repeated the words she knew so well.

“G-greetings, professor! Nothing to report!”

He punctuated the response with a little fist pump full of determination. This gesture always had her smiling, melting his encumbered limbs. Now he knew everything was all right. The gatekeeper pushed through his feelings, trying to make the usual conversation.

“Things have been a little peaceful around here, which I don’t know is a good thing or a bad thing. What do you think, professor?”

Byleth’s eyes fluttered up as she considered the sky in thought before she gave a little shrug. The gatekeeper chuckled, having expected her reply.

“Well, the times are changing! It’s the eve of the Garland Moon, so you know what that means, right, professor?” He received a shake of her head. “It’s common for women to give white rose garlands to their close friends, o-or lovers. It’s the tradition here in Fódlan.” The gatekeeper kicked at a small stone at his feet, eyes flicking up to Byleth awkwardly. “Is there anyone like that for you, professor?”

Byleth’s lips drew to a small O before she dipped her chin. “Yes,” she said. The gatekeeper’s heart fluttered erratically in a panic, wondering who that special person was, until she added, “Jeralt.”

“Oh… Oh! Oh right, Jeralt! Your dad… Yea… heh… I, I-I should’ve known…” The gatekeeper rubbed the back of his neck. “Is there, um, anyone else you were expecting to give a garland to?”

Byleth shook her head. “No one else comes to mind,” she replied. “There is no one.”

“I see…”

The gatekeeper couldn’t deny the wash of relief that overcame him. There was some comfort in knowing that Byleth wasn’t involved with _anyone, _despite his conscious awareness he barely stood a chance.

“Anyway, if you’re going to make him a garland, you should visit the greenhouse! I heard it’s overflowing with white roses for the coming month. The students sure are eager! Maybe you could nab a few to make him a garland.”

Byleth’s expression, though slight, shifted to keen understanding at the advice given her way. It pleased the gatekeeper beyond reason to know he offered her some kind of help; after all, considering his station, there was so little he could do for her. When she offered him a smile and backpedaled a step, he knew she was off, and bid her goodbye with a wave.

“I guess you’re headed off to the greenhouse, right?” he asked, receiving a nod. “Then good luck getting those roses, professor! I’m sure you’ll get a lot!”

Her exit was unceremonious as she shot back the way she came in a blinding run. The gatekeeper never understood her haste, but over the months, conceived it to be of an uncharacteristic enthusiasm. Though Byleth rarely showed this side of her (or maybe she wasn’t even aware of it herself), she tended to approach things with a childish innocence that the gatekeeper adored. Her steadfast determination rivaled no others, once again confirming why so many people looked up to her.

_I’m sure by tomorrow, she’ll be showing me a garland she made herself_, he thought, an unconscious smile curving on his lips. He hid it beneath the shadow of his helm. _I can’t wait!_

His prediction was met with some folly, however, as the change of the month brought in the rain. It was to be expected—the Garland Moon was the start of the rainy season—but so unexpectedly soon had washed away the gatekeeper’s good graces. Fat droplets pelted against the steel of his helm, boggling his mind to the point a small ache pulsed across his temple. Not a soul lingered in the marketplace or the main hall behind him, most having the foresight to take shelter from the terrible weather.

While the weather proved a frustrating venture, what upset him most was the fact that Byleth wouldn’t be showing. At least, he hadn’t expected her to show—she had the entire month to show him her garland, and he was content with waiting as long as it took to see her handiwork. Sure, a day without her was just as disappointing, but he’d make do with the fact she was warm, dry, and indoors as he kept vigil over the gate leading into the monastery.

His expectations were dashed aside yet again when he heard the beat of heels against wet stone. Jerking to his right, his breath caught in his throat as Byleth raced through the rain toward him; a raised hand serving as a futile attempt to keep the rain off her while the other clutched something delicate and white to her chest. When the gatekeeper came into view, her steps waned to a walk, and she approached him with a hardened expression. It was unlike any the gatekeeper had ever seen her wear.

“P-professor!” the gatekeeper choked out, turning about to her. “G-greetings! Uh, there’s nothing to report, so… Why are you here? It’s raining cats and dogs!”

Byleth shook her head, small droplets flicking off her drenched hair with the movement. Carefully, she extended the white rose garland she made to him, and nodded to it. The gatekeeper blinked, bending low to study it, before a pleased smile curved on his face. It did little to convey just how happy he felt in that moment—both by Byleth’s appearance and her craftsmanship—but he was beyond thrilled for both.

“It looks lovely, professor!” the gatekeeper said. “I’m sure Jeralt is going to be happy with it!”

Byleth shook her head again, insistently holding the garland out for him. “For you,” she said.

The gatekeeper choked on a gasp. “W-_what?_” he couldn’t help cry out, confounded as his cheeks burned. “M-me? Why… W-why are you giving _this_ to me? I thought you said you were making one for your dad?”

“I made two,” Byleth said. “There were a lot of flowers, so I made two. One for Jeralt, and one”—she finally placed the garland in the gatekeeper’s hands—“for you.”

“P-professor…”

The gatekeeper was touched beyond words, his eyes wavering with emotion. He was your typical everyman; a jack of all trades but a master of none. Hardly one worthy of attention. Though a woman here or there would flirt with him, he’d never been the recipient of a garland (barring the one time he received one as a joke; those were painful memories).

The gatekeeper almost thought Byleth was pitying him, but when he looked at her hardened countenance one more time, he realized what it was: She had every intention of giving him a garland, to the point she braved the rain to do so. She was _determined_.

A warm smile curved on the gatekeeper’s lips. “T-thank you, professor,” he said, holding the garland to his chest plate. “It’s an honor to know you took the time to make this and gift it to me. I-if it matters, I too think of you as a close friend. If there’s any way to repay you—”

Byleth shook her head. “No,” she said.

“Ah, but professor, I feel like I should return your kindness—”

“No,” Byleth repeated. “I don’t think of you as a close friend.”

The gatekeeper blinked. “What do you mean, professor?”

“You said women gift garlands to close friends,” she said, “or lovers. I don’t think of you as a friend.”

The gatekeeper’s mouth slackened as it fell agape. Byleth’s intentions were clear, this much the gatekeeper was sure of, even if his own disbelief had him thinking her mistaken or confused. Certainly, she had to be, right?

“P-professor, are you… A-are you saying what I _think_ you’re saying?” The low drone of rain was suddenly muted, a distant shower on the horizon, as his thundering heart boiled the blood in his ears. “You… Y-you can’t mean this, right? I’m not—”

“I’ve known,” Byleth said, a gentle smile curving on her face. “I’ve known for a very long time now.” She stepped up before him, splaying a wet hand on the metal of his chest plate, right above his heart. The gatekeeper trembled so violently, he nearly dropped his garland. “I want to know what you feel here, so I can tell you I feel the same.”

“P-professor…”

“What do you feel here? Please tell me.”

The gatekeeper’s tongue lolled about in his mouth as he tried, and failed, to form the words. Every attempt thereafter came to no avail as he floundered before the powerful, encompassing presence of Byleth’s determination. He could see the frustration growing in her eyes as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. She was just _so close_. There was no way he could say how he felt!

“I-I’m sorry, professor,” he said quietly, averting his eyes. “T-there’s, um, nothing to report.”

Byleth puffed out her bottom lip, pouting. “You always have something to tell me,” she said. “Why not now?”

“B-because…”

“Then, next month.” Byleth backpedaled from him. “What is next month?”

“The, ah, Blue Sea Moon. We celebrate the rebirth of the Goddess.”

“Then I will bring a miracle next month,” she said. “If I do, you will tell me how you feel.”

“Ah, professor—”

The gatekeeper couldn’t get another word in edgewise before Byleth shoot off, sprinting with an inhuman speed into the main hall. His hand caught open air as if to stop her before dropping at his side, a heavy sigh with it. As he fixed himself back at his post staring out at the seemingly abandoned marketplace, his insides swelled with regret. Not at the notion that he couldn’t be honest with the professor, but because he knew she was capable of a miracle. She would get what she wanted in the coming month, without a doubt.

_W-what have I gotten myself into?_ the gatekeeper thought as he clutched the top of his helmet, his headache now pounding ferociously. _T-this isn’t what I wanted at all!_


End file.
